BUREWALA: A man’s throat was slit by relatives of his wife in Multan who disapproved of their marriage in the latest “honour killing” to hit the country, police said Saturday.

Hundreds of women are murdered by relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour, but it is rare for victim to be a man.

The murder happened at a marketplace in Burewala, Punjab on Friday, when Muhammad Irshad, 43, was attacked by his father-in-law and two brothers in-law, police said.

“The assailants were armed with knives and hatchets and after inflicting several wounds on Irshad’s body they slit his throat,” district police chief Ghazi Salahuddin told AFP.

Irshad had married Mussarat Bibi, the daughter of a rich local agricultural family, about a year ago and fled as he feared his in-laws would kill him, but he had returned to see his parents, the police chief said.

A manhunt had been launched to find Irshad’s in-laws, who remained at large, he added.

Last week 16 year-old Zeenat Bibi was killed in Lahore by her mother for marrying a man of her own choice in a case that sparked condemnation throughout the country.

It was swiftly followed by another killing, of a couple in Lahore who married without their family’s consent.

On Thursday relatives slit the throat of a young mother who was pregnant with her second child after she married against their will in the village of Buttaranwali, some 75 kilometres (46 miles) north of Lahore.

On Sunday a young girl was killed by her brother for insisting on marrying the man of her choice in the city of Sialkot.

A film on honour killings in Pakistan won an Oscar for best documentary short in February.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to eradicate the “evil” amid publicity for the film, “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”, but as yet no fresh legislation has been tabled.

BUREWALA: Citizens protested against increasing crime incidents, delay in registering the cases and alleged corruption by policemen during an open court of Vehari DPO Sadiq Ali Dogar at SDPO office here on Wednesday.

The protesters said the City police had detained their relative Aziz Asif alias Kashi without any case on February 3. They added that the police also trespassed on their house, arrested Muhammad Saleem and Ghulam Tayyab, detained them for a month and later released them after receiving heavy bribe. The protesters were carrying placards against the police and tried to enter the SDPO office to register their protest, but the officials did not allow them to do so. Rana Shahbaz Ahmad, Rana Tariq Mehmood and Rana Muhammad Saleem of Chak 291/EB protested against the police for not registering a robbery case.

BUREWALA: Five people, including a child and three women, suffered injuries when their motorcycle rickshaw hit a car at Luddan Road on Tuesday. The rickshaw driver Shafiq also suffered injuries. The rickshaw was coming to the city area when it reached near Burewala textile Mills Square at Luddan Road, a car coming from the opposite side hit it, The other inured were identified as Zainab Bibi, Nusrat Bibi, Iqra Bibi and child Kashif. The injured were rushed to tehsil headquarters hospital. They eye witnesses said the accident occurred due to the negligence of the car driver.

BUREWALA: On the call of the Pakistan Bar Council, the lawyers observed a complete strike against the Islamabad incident. BBA President Chaudhry Ayaz Mahmood Ghumman condemned the attack. The BBA members also held a special meeting to offer Fateha for martyrs.

BUREWALA: Vehari District Coordination Officer Jawad Akram has said: “Due to sacrifices of our heroes we are breathing in free air and whole nation is proud of their martyrs.” The DCO was talking to journalists after laying a floral wreath at the shrine of Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed Nishan-e-Haider here on Thursday. District Police Officer Sadiq Ali Dogar, Assistant Commissioner Saifullah Sajid, DSP Sajjad Muhammad Khan Tikka, TMO MB Mazhar, Naib Tehsildar Arif Iqbal, Mehar Imran Hiraj, Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed Welfare Society officer-bearers and others were also present. Ch Abdul Mujeeb said Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed accepted martyrdom in 1958 at Laxmi Pur East Pakistan to take back border checkpoint from Indian occupation. He accepted martyrdom and raised the flag of his country high.